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Cruz Blustering Ruffles Boozman's Feathers

Cruz Blustering Ruffles Boozman&rsquo;s Feathers

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS / Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, emerges from the Senate Chamber after his overnight crusade railing against the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as "Obamacare," at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013. Cruz and other conservative Republicans are trying to delay a must-pass spending bill. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ruffled the feathers of one of his most mild-mannered colleagues this week as he staged a 21-hour, 19-minute pseudo-filibuster denouncing President Barack Obama’s health care law.

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., admitted Wednesday to raising his voice to Cruz during a private meeting on Tuesday of the Senate Republican caucus.

The altercation was first reported by Politico, which based its account on four unnamed sources familiar with the exchange.

“Boozman, an Arkansas Republican elected in 2010, stood up and yelled at Cruz, expressing frustration that his staff was deluged with belligerent phone calls mostly from out-of-state activists attacking the senator over the issue of defunding Obamacare,” Politico wrote. “Boozman also slammed Cruz for suggesting Republicans were in favor of the 3-year-old law even though all of them opposed it and have repeatedly voted to repeal it. Staring at Cruz, Boozman said he hasn’t been bullied since the seventh grade and he wouldn’t be bullied now.”

Boozman would not confirm the specifics of the Politico report but neither would he deny it.

“Those meetings are essentially like family. You get to express your views, and the unwritten law is you don’t talk about it outside the meeting,” Boozman said in an interview Wednesday. “So we had a good conversation, and I think it was productive.”

Boozman then tried mightily to debunk the notion that he has a problem with Cruz.

The two are friends, Boozman said, and he respects his decision to stage a filibuster. He said he also admired Cruz’s ability to hold the Senate floor through the night.

At the same time, Boozman said he did not believe in the need to tie Obamacare to a government shutdown.

“Essentially, you are holding the American public hostage and they don’t have anything to do with this,” Boozman said.

As far as him yelling, Boozman said he is being judged a bit harshly given his soft-spoken nature.

“I think the loudness was not loud compared to regular standards. It was loud for me, OK,” he said. “I certainly wasn’t yelling at anybody or anything like that, but from my tone you could tell I was concerned.”

Boozman seemed a bit embarrassed by the whole affair.

“I’m a guy that firmly believes — and in conducting myself — firmly believe you can disagree without being disagreeable,” he said. “That is how I get things done. Relationships are everything up here.”